Instant Messaging (sometimes called IM or IMing) allows a user to easily see whether chosen friends, associates or co-workers are connected to the Internet (and whether they are willing to accept messages) and, if they are, to exchange messages with them. Instant messaging differs from ordinary e-mail in the immediacy of the message exchange and also makes a continued exchange simpler than sending e-mail back and forth. Allowing each user to know whether another user is present and willing to accept messages makes IM communication feel immediate and more personal.
IM was built as a simple “one-to-one” communication mechanism. That is, one user will broadcast messages to another single user. IM is a data communication and may incorporate, text, voice, and virtually any other media types. IM is also considered an active form of messaging, meaning it can relay—and act upon—information as to one's availability and whereabouts without one's intervention.
Like the personal computer, the applications for IM are virtually endless. However, current IM technology is relatively primitive and limited in its applications, especially in the enterprise context. For IM to grow in the enterprise, it must transition from a simple one-to-one communication mechanism into an automated, accessible, extensible, and scalable one-to-many platform—able to bring its unique communication characteristics to a massively larger audience in a programmatic and automated fashion—and able to integrate with past, current, and future standards. The present invention provides an automated system and method for broadcast IM that serves these goals.